Thursday, October 16, 2008

I get a kick out of telling people that Chicky plays soccer. Soccer? For three year olds? Surely we must be those parents who are pushing their babies into activities well before they should. We're probably stunting her growth but how else will she be ready for the 2024 summer Olympic women's soccer team?

Well it's not so much playing soccer as it is spinning in circles in the sunshine and picking grass. Also, kicking playground balls into the woods. It's a good time. I leave every "game" in tears. Happy, joyful, laughing-my-ass-off kinds of tears.

Most of the other kids in this "league" (Don't you love the "finger quotes"? Aren't they "awesome"?) are four and five years old so being one of the youngest she gets cut a lot of slack. When the others are trying to follow the coach's instructions she's kicking a ball from one end of the grassy area to the other. I've never enjoyed watching my kid blatantly ignoring authority more.

My budding fashionista. They're supposed to be stretching but she's making found objects into pieces of wearable art. She's a multi-tasker! If pro soccer doesn't work out there's always Project Runway.

You like my hat? What, this old thing? Orange is the new black.

It can also be used as a mask to hide from the paparazzi. Mary Kate already order five of these.

That's my girl, staying close to the coach. I sincerely hope she was just trying to get the hair out of her face and wasn't practicing using her femine wiles.

That's it, Chicky. Don't rely on pretty, impress him with your mad goalie skills instead. Look at that form! I dare some kid to try to get something by her.

Some might look at this picture and see a girl learning how to trap a ball. I see the "Crane Pose".

We'll wait until Chicky-san's in the third grade before we teach her to sweep the leg. At least. When it comes to sport we're ruthless in this family. Strike first, strike hard, no mercy.

(Okay, not really. We're total pacifists. Or is it pansies? I forget.)

32 comments:

This reminds me of our daughter last year. She was the youngest and convinced all the other kids that picking grass was much more fun. We tried to sign her up again this year but I was told it was full. My husband thinks they just recognized her name and wanted to avoid a repeat of last year.

Apparently you should have signed Chicky up for karate lessons! I love the crane pose. And nothing like some good-spirited running around, whether with purpose or otherwise. I hope the joy stays in it for a while longer before anyone starts to get competitive.

She is so pretty!! Mine played soccer when she was 4 and 5. Yeah, they totally sat down in the middle of the field and compared nail polish during a game. The Ringleader? My Kid. What? OPI had just come out with a new line and she was all excited...

My four year old "plays" soccer. She adores it, but she has no clue what she's doing. We do it mostly, because it's a chance for her to have to listen to someone else. Plus all the running and um...cartwheels she does, runs off energy.

Cute pictures! I'm all for little kids playing sports: sports, bath and bed in that order. Sure sports are great for self-esteem, learning to be a team player and of course fitness but to me the sound sleeping is the best!

Hi Tania, finally catching up post BlogHer and wanted to pop over and say hello (was so very low energy when I met you in the late afternoon...). Love these photos -- my 4yo daughter also is rocking soccer in our backyard. The coordination surprises me...

Hope we can connect at some point again in the future. Would love to chat and get to know you better.